Building Peace and CommunityScarsdale Middle School CelebratesInternational Day of Peace and International Cease Fire DaySeptember 21, 2009
On September 21, 2009, Scarsdale Middle School will celebrate International Day of Peace, which is also International Cease Fire Day. International Day of Peace provides an opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982. In 2002 the General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace. By creating the International Day of Peace, the UN devoted itself to worldwide peace and encouraged all of mankind to work in cooperation for this goal.
Along with being designated by the UN as the International Day of Peace, September 21 is also a day of Global Ceasefire. By acknowledging a unified day without violence, a Global Ceasefire can provide hope for citizens who must endure war and conflict; it proves that worldwide peace is possible. Peace Day provides an opportunity to cease conflict on a personal, as well as on a global, level.
On September 21, 2009, Scarsdale Middle School will celebrate International Day of Peace with several different projects and initiatives. The House Counselors will lead guidance workshops with all students prior to September 21st to talk with the students about how they can build a more peaceful comumity at Scarsdale Middle School. The House Counselors will focus on ways in which students use "words as weapons" and brainstorm ways we can declare our own "cease fire" beginning on September 21st.
Through this guidance outreach, students will be asked to sign a school-wide Peacebuilding Promise on September 21st. Peacebuilding is different from "peacemaking" and "peacekeeping" in that it focuses on creating a long-term culture of peace, rather than solving existing conflicts or preventing old ones from re-occurring. Peacebuilding activities aim at building understanding and tolerance between individuals and communities. By signing the Peacebuilding Promise on the International Day of Peace, SMS students will show their commitment to eliminating words of hate, words of discrimination, and words of hurt from their vernacular. Students and staff will also be asked to wear white, the color of peace, on September 21st.
On September 21, 2009, Scarsdale Middle School will celebrate International Day of Peace, which is also International Cease Fire Day. International Day of Peace provides an opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982. In 2002 the General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace. By creating the International Day of Peace, the UN devoted itself to worldwide peace and encouraged all of mankind to work in cooperation for this goal.
Along with being designated by the UN as the International Day of Peace, September 21 is also a day of Global Ceasefire. By acknowledging a unified day without violence, a Global Ceasefire can provide hope for citizens who must endure war and conflict; it proves that worldwide peace is possible. Peace Day provides an opportunity to cease conflict on a personal, as well as on a global, level.
On September 21, 2009, Scarsdale Middle School will celebrate International Day of Peace with several different projects and initiatives. The House Counselors will lead guidance workshops with all students prior to September 21st to talk with the students about how they can build a more peaceful comumity at Scarsdale Middle School. The House Counselors will focus on ways in which students use "words as weapons" and brainstorm ways we can declare our own "cease fire" beginning on September 21st.
Through this guidance outreach, students will be asked to sign a school-wide Peacebuilding Promise on September 21st. Peacebuilding is different from "peacemaking" and "peacekeeping" in that it focuses on creating a long-term culture of peace, rather than solving existing conflicts or preventing old ones from re-occurring. Peacebuilding activities aim at building understanding and tolerance between individuals and communities. By signing the Peacebuilding Promise on the International Day of Peace, SMS students will show their commitment to eliminating words of hate, words of discrimination, and words of hurt from their vernacular. Students and staff will also be asked to wear white, the color of peace, on September 21st.
Source:
<http://internationaldayofpeace.org/about/background.html>